Truth Underwater
by crazysockmonkeys
Summary: Mulder and Scully are off to the Florida Keys, exploring Mulder's definition of "the x-file of a lifetime."
1. Chapter 1

"All right, Mulder," Scully sat in the chair in front of Mulder's desk, crossing her legs. She had received an urgent call from Mulder earlier that Sunday afternoon, telling her to get down to the office as quickly as she could. "What's this all about?"

"The x-file of a _lifetime,_ Scully," he replied. "I've been waiting for a case like this for years."

"What've we got?"

With extreme excitement, Mulder got up and turned on the slide projector, revealing a picture of a man on gravely, pale sand. He was almost unrecognizable with wounds of all sorts. "Islamorada, Florida," Mulder stated. "That's _the Keys,_ Scully. This man was found a few days ago floating around in the mangroves after a crew had come looking after him. He had never turned in his rental kayak."

Scully stared. "What happened to him, Mulder?"

"That's the thing. An autopsy report done in Miami shows that it's as if this man has been attacked by every remotely dangerous sea creature known to live in those parts, from jellyfish to sting rays to barracudas to sharks, even."

"How could that happen? He wasn't even out on the open water."

"Local police are stumped as to what could have occurred. They've pulled every expert marine biologist they know of and have come up with nothing. That's why they asked us to go down there and check everything out."

"Tell me why this is the case of a lifetime?" 

"It's the perfect location! I dream about working a case like this. The smell of the salt air, the seafood, all that stuff."

"I thought you hated vacationing, Mulder." 

"Yeah, well I do, normally, but this isn't vacationing, it's working."

"Even so, Mulder, I went to the Keys with my family at sixteen. I'm just gonna tell you now, there aren't many beaches, and it's delightfully tacky, for lack of a better phrase."

"Maybe, but I'll have you know that our motel sits right on the water. And there's a pool."

"All right, all right." Scully gave in to a tiny smile at Mulder's enthusiasm. "When do we leave?"


	2. Chapter 2

Scully stood before the body of Adrian Mercer, which was now covered with a sheet. Even though an autopsy had already been done, Mulder had wanted her to do another herself. She was speechless as he came in and asked, "So, what's the consensus?"

"Mulder, this man...I don't even..." She picked up the report of investigations done by local marine life specialists. "There is a list a full page long of creatures Mercer was attacked by, and the most anyone come up with for the cause of death is blood loss from the Great White Shark bite he received. Mulder, this is insane. Mangroves are home to fish and jellyfish—maybe baby sharks! And yet from renting a kayak on his free time he is mutilated beyond the realms of...possibility." She took a deep breath.

"Do you have any ideas on what might have happened?"

"I have no idea. It's like some sort of rebellion against humanity or a...mass force-"

"Underwater mutiny? That's the best you can do?" Asked Mulder with a chuckle.

"All right, what do you think?"

"I don't know yet, but to me, it seems highly improbably that this guy was attacked by several different things all acting together or in the same area at the same time. What if this were some sort of genetically altered monster that preys on humans?"

"For what purpose?" Scully asked. "Mercer may have been bitten, but he is fully intact, so nothing ate him. If this were some sort of...'sea thing,' it would get absolutely nothing out of killing people."

"Like I said, I don't know yet, but I already feel like I've worked too much today."

"What do you mean, work? We got on a plane to Miami, got here, and I went to work on this autopsy while you waited."

"I mean my brain's working too hard, Scully. It's pool time!"

"Mulder, we've still got a few hours before we'll get to Islamorada."

"Yeah, I know, but the pool will still be open, Scully. I checked. We take a dip, you throw on a sundress, and we hurry on out to Freedom Sail, the most carefree seafood restaurant in all the Keys. I made us reservations, in case you were wondering."

"I'm really not much of a pool person, and Mulder..._sundress?"_

"We're living on island time, Scully!"

* * *

After a couple of hours and a couple of long silences, Mulder and Scully arrived at their hotel. Just as Mulder had promised, there was a beautiful view of the glimmering sea. They checked in, and Mulder wanted to check out the things to do around the hotel. Scully went with him. Still packing around their luggage, they saw that there was a huge pool, a hot tub, and a small tiki bar. Near the water, there was a tiny hut with a sign next to it that read: _Complimentary Oceanside Massages Every Afternoon._

"Mulder...the FBI isn't paying for a resort like this, is it?" Asked Scully.

"Nah, I splurged."

"You're paying for this out of your own pocket?"

"Well, not the whole thing. You only go around once, Scully."

"Mulder..."

"What can I say? I'm generous."

Scully smiled at him. "Thank you, Mulder. This is really nice."

"You're welcome," he said, patting her on the shoulder.

They rode up in the elevator together and filed into their rooms, which were across the hall from each other. "Meet me at the pool in ten minutes," said Mulder, unlocking his door. "Or don't. Whatever tickles your fancy. But we're leaving for dinner at seven."

"All right." Scully opened her door and took a deep breath. It really was a great room, with plenty of space for just her. As she looked around, everything reminded her where she was, from the red starfish on the lampshades to the palm branches on the bedspread. She moved over to her small balcony, opened the door, and stepped outside. Before her was an unobstructed view of the limitless sea. It had always made her feel at home because of her father's service as a Naval Captain. Thinking fondly of him, she knew what she was going to do until dinner. Opening up her suitcase and taking out her worn copy of _Moby Dick_, she returned to her balcony, where she sat in a plastic chair and put her feet up on the railing.

"_Chapter One: Loomings."_

* * *

For dinner, Scully had chosen to wear the same clothes as she had been wearing, but as Mulder approached her in the hotel lobby, she saw that he had selected an orange Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and sandals. She couldn't help but chuckle at him. "Very nice, Mulder."

"Really, Scully? You're wearing your G-Woman clothes?"

"This is always what I wear when we go out to eat."

"Usually you don't have an opportunity to change. You had two and a half hours to find a different outfit!"

"Come on, Mulder," she said, turning her back toward him and beginning to walk out to the car.


	3. Chapter 3

The restaurant, as Scully had hoped, was located directly on the water. Large windows were open all around, and a wonderful breeze ruffled white tablecloths. Mulder was right, it was carefree, albeit oozing with popularity.

"What are you getting, Scully?"

"Pasta."

_"Pasta?_ First the clothes, now..."

"Mulder, it has shrimp and scallops in it."

"Fine, fine, get what you want. I'm having crab."

After they had ordered, Scully looked out the window while Mulder steered the subject towards work. "So, earlier while I was soaking up some rays I got a phone call from a Dr. Eleanor Ingram, a biologist who studies the threats sea creatures pose to human beings. She has an office in Key West that she wants us to come visit tomorrow. About the case."

"Exactly what kind of work does she do?"

"You know, I'm not sure exactly. She told me that she sometimes investigates cases like this."

"How often _are_ there cases like this?"

"More often than you would think."

"Really."

"Yeah. I mean, mysterious drownings, shark attacks..."

"Aren't those just what they sound like?"

"Maybe, but you know 95 percent of the world's oceans are unexplored. Who knows what's out there, Scully. I mean, if there are vast areas of the sea humanity has never come in contact with, how are we to know that something truly dangerous isn't out there, waiting to strike?"

"Mulder, that's crazy. Even if there were something like that alive and existing, what are the odds it would ever find land? _Mangroves,_ at that?"

"Well, we'll just see what Dr. Ingram has to say."

Scully began staring out the window again.

* * *

When they had arrived back at their hotel, it was dark, and when Scully opened the door to her room she caught a brief glance out the window. Where the sea stretched, there was only darkness as far as she could see. There was no moon tonight, and no boats danced on the waves. There was only nothing. As she got ready for bed, she did her best not to think about what Mulder had told her, knowing that there was most likely no validity in it, and tried to see the water as she always had: peaceful and welcoming.

* * *

The next morning, Scully and Mulder piled in the car and began the trek to Key West. Scully drove, and Mulder commented on the color of the water and even made them stop for shopping on a few occasions, until it started raining.

Once they had gotten there, Mulder went to a convenience store to pick up a disposable camera and insisted they take a picture at the monument that marked the southernmost point in the continental US. They waited in line to stand by it, and although Scully was almost at the end of her rope and it looked like it might rain again soon, she pulled through.

"Smile big, Scully!" Said Mulder as a stranger took their picture. Scully managed a small smile.

They drove through downtown while making their way to Dr. Ingram's office, and once they had they found it to be much larger than they were expecting it to be. They opened the door and walked in, amazed by what they saw. On one wall was a giant tank, as big as the wall itself, filled with creatures and fish off all kind. There were small, waist-high plastic bins scattered about the floor, and upon inspection they appeared to be filled with tiny jellyfish. In the same place were desks overflowing with papers and books, and a side table with a coffee mug.

"Mulder, this is unbelievable," whispered Scully.

"Hello? Agent Mulder?" Called a feminine voice. Out from another room walked a tall, thin young woman with dark brown hair tied in a messy braid. She was wearing jeans and a plain blue t-shirt. As she approached the two agents, she pushed reading glasses onto her forehead.

"Are you Dr. Ingram?" Asked Mulder.

"Yes. You're Agent Mulder? And Scully?"

"Yes."

"Great. Please follow me."

She began to lead them into the room she had come out of, but she stopped by a plastic bin. "These little guys are kind of an experiment I started a while ago. I'm observing their growth patterns in water with different levels of salt content. Once they begin really growing up, I'll test to see if the water has made any affect on the pain of their sting."

"What's the purpose?" Asked Scully.

"Um...oh, strictly personal knowledge," Dr. Ingram said, quickly moving on. "Unfortunately, some of my studies are at a tiny bit of a standstill. A big part of my income comes from the state, and my funding has been cut. I've recently moved in here, which accounts for the mess."

She took Mulder and Scully toward the back of her office and unlocked a sturdy door. She brushed her braid away from her shoulder as she went through and revealed a very small room. The concrete floor only went halfway, and the rest was ocean water, coming in in small waves. "This is where I release most of the animals back into the wild. Oh, and sometimes I store larger specimens here as well."

Mulder pointed to the largest pen she had, a huge cage with thick, iron bars. There was a misshapen hole in the farthest side of the pen. "I see that one's broken."

"Oh, yes. It's been that way for a few weeks now. I just haven't gotten around to getting it fixed yet," said Dr. Ingram.

After the tour was finished, the three sat down in Dr. Ingram's personal office, her at her desk and Mulder and Scully on separate chairs. "The reason I called you, Agent Mulder, is that I've been looking into this case myself. It's truly extraordinary. Of course, that isn't to say something like it hasn't happened before."

"Please enlighten us," said Scully, beginning to mentally check out.

"Well, a few years ago, a man was out snorkeling and he took...this picture..." She searched for it and finally handed it to Mulder. It was a picture of a long, gray fish with what appeared to be tentacles for fins and a tail. "A barracuda with the tentacles of a box jellyfish," finished Dr. Ingram.

"This photo could easily be counterfeit, Dr. Ingram," said Scully.

"Perhaps, but in my research I've concluded that such genetic mutations are likely and not altogether outside the realm of possibility. There have also been stories of harmless nurse sharks developing sting ray tails, or even fish showing some of the properties of electric eels."

"Dr. Ingram, in your opinion, is something like this to blame for what happened to Adrian Mercer?" Asked Mulder.

"Yes. I don't see another possibility, and all I truly want to do is get to the bottom of this and find out how to stop it."

"You think it will kill again," said Scully, not asking.

"Well...I mean, I don't know. Since I wasn't there with Adrian Mercer, there's no telling if he provoked it, or if this thing killed him for killing sake."

"Why would any sort of animal do that?" Scully asked.

"Agent Scully, creatures of the sea are amazing life forces. The dangers they possess are unlike any animal on land. While it is true that most creatures attack out of self-defense or as a way of getting food, who's to say that of these beings were to somehow genetically morph that there demeanor wouldn't at all change?"

"How do you suppose we got about catching this thing?" said Mulder.

"I don't know. Perhaps the two of you could come back tomorrow. I might have some more answers then."

"Okay. Well, thank you, Dr. Ingram. And I was meaning to ask you, what's that guy's story?" Mulder pointed to a well furnished fish tank with a small jellyfish swimming rhythmically inside.

"That's Fern. She's sort of my pet. We go way back, Fern and I." She smiled and began to show the agents out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: It is inexcusable that I have gone this long without updating this story! I apologize. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed/favorited/reviewed this story! It's so much fun to write!**

* * *

"Woah, Scully, was that place crazy or what?" Said Mulder as he got into the driver's seat. "And Dr. Ingram was acting more than a little strange, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would, Mulder, but I don't know what that's supposed to tell us."

"Did you even see that broken cage, Scully? Did you see how thick those bars were? It would take an extremely large and strong animal to break through something like that. And what about all those baby jellyfish?"

"The ones she said were for her own knowledge only?"

"She easily could have been lying."

"She's a marine biologist, Mulder. She studies oceanic animals."

He sighed. "I know that. She was acting strange, that's all I'm saying."

"You're one to talk." She smiled a little bit. "But, I agree with you, Mulder. She was probably just nervous."

"Why nervous?"

"We're FBI agents, Mulder, coming into her private office!"

"Nah, you saw the place, Scully. She knew that we were coming. Don't you think if she were nervous to make a good impression she would have straightened the place up a little bit? But, I do think that she was nervous because she wanted to hide something, wouldn't you agree?" He prodded again.

Scully didn't comment. "Where are we going now, Mulder?"

"Well, back to the hotel first, to change. Then we're going kayaking."

"What? Kayaking?"

"Or canoeing. Your choice, really. We have to go search the mangroves where Mercer was killed, and the only way we can access the area is by canoe or kayak."

Scully sighed and glanced out the window. The rain had cleared up; there was no getting out of this. Rolling down the windows, Mulder turned on the radio and the song "What a Wonderful World" began to play. As Scully closed her eyes and decided to pretend to be asleep, she heard something unmistakable—Mulder was singing along to the radio. Disgusted, Scully leaned back her seat and decided that it would probably be best to fall asleep for real.

* * *

A few hours later, Mulder and Scully were wading into salty ocean water in puffy life jackets, doing their best to figure out how to get inside the kayaks without tipping over. Once they had achieved this, they began to row towards the mangroves, and Mulder held out the laminated map that had been given to them when they had rented their kayaks. "The guy said the spot where they found Mercer was to the east of where we are now. I really wish he had circled it on the map or something... I guess we'll just look around. I bet we'll see some stuff."

So Scully buckled down and followed Mulder, looking down into the clear water whenever he pointed something out and keeping to herself. He had certainly been right, they saw plenty of colorful fish and sea creatures.

"Oh wow, Scully," Mulder said as they caught sight of yellow police tape draped from mangrove to mangrove. "Come look at this." He held up the tape for her as she ducked under and when finally she saw what he had been referring to.

A gigantic, cave-like gaping hole had been torn into the roots of one unfortunate mangrove. The dark space inside of it was so unnatural Scully could see why the park worker who had talked to them earlier had called the scene "quite a spectacle."

"Mulder...what could have done this?"

"I don't know, but it wasn't a human." He gave a long, thinking pause. "Hear me out for a second...Scully, what it this thing could...lure its victims?"

"What do you mean?"

"Say it made its nest here. It wouldn't even have to leave home to claim a victim; all it would have to do was make itself look like a sea creature someone who came through here would want to see."

"In that case, its only target would be humans, Mulder. How does that make any sense? We already know it doesn't eat what it kills."

"I don't know Scully, but something about this whole thing is just...fishy." He gave a smile in spite of himself.

Scully rolled her eyes. "Mulder...no." The more he looked at her the more she found her face forming a smile until finally she laughed softly.


End file.
